IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

The Wisdom of Children to Lighten the Mood

It's not been a pleasant weekend with gales and rain battering these shores, but something landed in my email inbox earlier that I thought I'd share with you.  There is nothing like the wisdom of children to lighten the mood.  So, here we have a few gems, copied in as received:

Agatha Raisin There Goes the Bride - M. C. Beaton

With There Goes the Bride, M. C. Beaton is on her twentieth novel in the Agatha Raisin series and I have to confess that I have not read any of the previous nineteen.  This did not prove a hindrance as all series characters were introduced with a little backstory and/or a quirk of character or appearance.  However, there were rather a lot of them on times, making it a tad difficult to keep up. (Cue: look at previous pages.)

By the time of There Goes the Bride we have a seasoned Agatha: in her fifties with two successful businesses behind her (PR followed by private detection); conscious of her ageing looks and potentially withering abilities; and with an arthritic hip creaking in.  As There Goes the Bride opens, Agatha still feels something for ex-husband James Lacey and takes a well-earned holiday to brush up on his interests in history, just to prove herself.  Unfortunately, James - on holiday in the same places with his bride-to-be, Felicity - spots her, so the scene is set for some later accusations of 'stalking'.

The Armageddon Trade - Clem Chambers

Partly to further investigate authors in The Curzon Group and partly to support a recent job application - thus keeping me in the mood and 'with' the culture - I embarked on reading a few financial thrillers.  Published by No Exit Press, the author of The Armageddon Trade, Clem Chambers does work in the City.  Indeed, he is the CEO at ADVFN, 'Europe's number one stocks and shares Web site'. 

Set in the near future, as 9/11/11 approaches, The Armageddon Trade focuses on rising trading star Jim who needs no complicated mathematical modelling to interpret stock charts and maximise profits for his bank.  In the background, the usual suspects - when it comes to terrorists - are planning and coordinating something big.  But Jim's talents do not go unnoticed as he receives a job offer from a well-known and renowned dealer on the scene.  As it transpires, the powerful and mysterious Max Davas may be even more powerful than he first appears.

I so wanted to love this book, but it did not deliver as it said on the label.  The Armageddon Trade went into sci-fi and computer games.  By the end it had taken in a 'boys' own' culture and reminded me of Daniel Craig's first outing as James Bond on the screen.  One for the boys this Christmas, I think.  Especially City boys who love a fast pace...

Crime Writing Conference: Abergavenny, south Wales

Academi is holding "Criminal Intent: Crime Writing Conference for the Valleys 2009" on Saturday 14 November 2009 at St Mary's Priory in Abergavenny from 10am to 4pm.  Participants include Katherine John, Bernard Knight, John Williams, Caspar Walsh, Glen Peters, Simon Hall, Graham Hartill, Simon Lewis, Anita Flowers, Lindsay Ashford and Phil Forder. 

See above link for details on booking and look here for the programme and a downloadable pdf of the same.

Winter Warmers - Welsh Cawl Recipe

Most countries have rustic dishes of some sort, using up bits and pieces and leftovers.  The Welsh version would have to be Cawl, which essentially uses up winter root vegetables and the traditional, good old Welsh leek.  It can be made with lamb or beef; although as a child, my mother always preferred to make it with beef (shin pieces).  And so, in my adulthood, I have always made it with beef.  Quantities can be varied as it is a dish that uses up those bits and pieces from your larder/fridge.  Here’s one I made earlier (for about six servings):

Quigley's Return...

There'll be fireworks in Newcastle for another reason this evening. Today marks the publication of Sheila Quigley's The Road to Hell, her first novel with publisher Tonto Books and the fifth in her Seahills Estate series.

Congratulations to all!

Bestselling Crime Author Peter James heads west...

Bestselling crime author Peter James is heading west, but this time not as far as the Turks and Caicos Islands.  No, he's visiting libraries in Bristol, Newport and Cardiff to talk about his latest novel Dead Tomorrow.  Schedule and contact details are as follows:

1st December @ 7.30pm
Bristol Central Library, College Green in association with Borders, Bristol.
Tickets £2. To reserve tickets please call: 0117 903 250

2nd December @ 2.30pm
Newport Central Library, John Frost Square, Newport.
Tickets are free but must be reserved. To reserve tickets please call: 01633 656 656

2nd December @ 6.30pm
Cardiff Central Library, The Hayes, Cardiff.
Tickets £2. To reserve tickets please call: 02920 780920

(Info from Midas Public Relations.)

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye - C. J. Box

Again, thanks to those pretty good PR people at FMcM Associates in London, I have read a novel I'd otherwise have missed.  Three Weeks to Say Goodbye from C. J. Box, an award winning writer in the US, is a story based on something that happened to friends of the author.  It's available in the UK from Corvus, the Grove Atlantic imprint on 1 December. So, what's it all about?

With a sound marriage, there was only one thing that escaped Jack and Melissa McGuane for a few years: parenthood.  Eventually they decide to adopt and the beautiful baby that is Angelina comes into their lives.  They now have a daughter; a daughter to whom they have bonded.  But when Angelina is nine months old they discover that the dottings and crossings did not take place to the required level for their adoption.  Angelina's father did not sign away his parental rights.  More to the point, the biological father is but an eighteen year old and his father is a federal judge who wants to 'do the right thing' and see responsibility being taken.  Enter Judge John Moreland and his son Garrett with the best offer they can make as the law is on their side: the McGuanes have 'Three Weeks to Say Goodbye' to their adopted daughter Angelina.

Ellis Peters Historical Award 2009

Last night, the Ellis Peters Historical Award for 2009 went to Philip Kerr for If the Dead Rise Not, Quercus.

Philip Kerr being congratulated by Janet Laurence, Chair of the Judges.

Philip Kerr delivering his witty acceptance speech.

Note: there are two outgoing people on the judging panel this year (I forget which).  Replacements are Barry Forshaw of Crime Time and The Independent, and the youthful Jake Kerridge of the Daily Telegraph.

The evening was organised with aplomb by Sam Eades of Headline.

For some, tweeting was put aside for a bit of real face to face contact lubricated with wine.  On my part, how good to meet you all and to put faces and voices to the maximum 140 character tweets!

Jessica Mann and Sadistic Misogyny and Newspaper Accuracy

I just happened to be on twitter yesterday evening when tweets came through about the articles in the weekend's Daily Telegraph and The Observer.  Needless to say, so were a few others and a debate ensued.  What surprised me then was how this was suddenly news.  It had been debated before, on a couple of blogs, at the time Jessica Mann's original article was published in Standpoint Magazine.  But what appalled me yesterday was the inaccuracy in the reporting and it has now spread across the net today.

First the DT.  The headline was "Book reviewer quits over 'increasing sexist violence'". Well, no, she hasn't actually.  In Standpoint Mann concluded "So however many more outpourings of sadistic misogyny are crammed on to the bandwagon, no more of them will be reviewed by me."

The Observer. The headline was accurate, but oh no, the standfirst then said "Leading novelist says graphic depictions of sadistic misogyny have become so extreme she refuses to review any more fiction".  Again, no, Mann did not say she wasn't going to review any more fiction.  See above.

Today, this piece of news has been picked up across the Alantic.  Canada's Quill & Quire carries the heading: "Novelist stops reviewing because of rampant misogyny in crime fiction".  The first paragraph ends "...that she’s giving up reviewing any more fiction".  (Again see above.)  The New York Times kept it short and snappy and accurate.  The New Yorker also managed to maintain accuracy on Mann's words but shunted off into the big feminist debate.

Now for some perspective.  Jessica Mann is declining to read crime novels of a certain type.  These are the ones she sees as:

"Each psychopath is more sadistic than the last and his victims' sufferings are described in detail that becomes ever more explicit, as young women are imprisoned, bound, gagged, strung up or tied down, raped, sliced, burned, blinded, beaten, eaten, starved, suffocated,  stabbed, boiled or buried alive."

On this morning's Today programme, she was given just over five minutes to debate her thoughts, along with Selina Walker, Publishing Director at Transworld with responsibility for their crime list.  You can listen to that section here.  But for the perspective, do note that Mann said this type of novel for her was "a very small proportion" and probably less than one tenth of the 600 crime novels published annually in the UK.

She added that this "small proportion of books will not be in my review list any more".

So she's not giving up, she's merely passing on a few that don't suit her tastes and she's had the courage to say so.  I'd guess that others have already been doing this for a while, but in silence.

Family Life - Paul Charles

I first came across Paul Charles at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival; last year, I believe.  He sounded interesting, with a series set in Camden, London, so I made a note to follow up.  It took a while to do so and by the time I did, he was also on to his second series, this one with an Irish setting.  Thanks to some pretty good PR people at FMcM Associates in London, I have now read the second in this second series: Family Life.

And what a perfect title for this novel, published by Brandon.  At the start of Family Life, various members of the Sweeney family arrive at the farm home of grandparents Liam and Colette for Liam's birthday.  However, one of the offspring is late - the youngest son Joe, who has inherited the farm to continue Liam's good work - and it is Inspector Starrett who arrives in his place and to deliver some heartbreaking news, for Joe's body has been discovered at a site that was one of the sets for the TV drama The Hanging Gale.

All in family Sweeney are in shock and we soon learn that Joe was a 'good man' in all aspects.  So why did the best of the clan die in such suspicious circumstances?  Was he murdered?  And if so, why?

Cardiff University Crime Fiction Event

Cardiff University is holding a crime fiction event on the evening of Thursday 28 October, Capital Crimes: Writing the City.

Please note that you need to contact the email address on the page link to ensure a place.  (There are only a few left.)

Authors at the event include Ann Featherstone; Cormac Millar; Lindsay Ashford; Richard Gwynn; John Williams and Struan Sinclair.

Themes and topics of interest that may be discussed are:

• space and place in the construction of crime
• the capital city as crime metropolis and magnet
• the relationship between real and imagined perpetrators and crimes
• national crime and circulation of criminal archetypes and myths.

CWA/ITV3 Thriller Awards & latest...

...here.

Link Update & Book Sites

I've created another set of links in the sidebar for 'Book Sites'.  Flashlight Worthy is my first add.  I like them because they are different: they provide book recommendations in the form of lists.  Do check them out.  I've been asked to contribute a list and I'm thinking about it right now.

Also - with apologies to Bernadette for an overlook on my part the last time I updated my links - I have added Reactions to Reading to the Australian Crime Blogs section.  Do pay a visit!

Acts of Violence - Ryan David Jahn

In 1964, Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her home in New York City.  It was thought that up to 38 people witnessed her attack, but did nothing to help, leading to what became known as the "Bystander Effect".  Debut author Ryan David Jahn was inspired by the case and in Acts of Violence brings us the fictional story of the night that Katrina Marino suffered the same fate.

This is a remarkable novel on more than one level.  First, its 280 pages of narrative span only a couple of hours during one night.  Secondly, it is dark, thoroughly compelling and emotionally engaging as it explores the lives of all those whose only true link is to be involved in what happened that night. "If only" comes to mind so many times when reading, as well as a feeling of violence in the reader: you really want to shake some bystanders away from what enthrals them into action for the victim.  Thirdly, it provides a realistic depiction of time and place, including all its prejudices as barriers were being broken down.

Acts of Violence is effectively a series of vignettes, moving from Katrina's heartbreaking experiences to those of the otherwise engaged witnesses and back again, to the police and ambulance crew who are eventually called to the scene, sadly all too late, and to the perpetrator of the crime.

Acts of Violence is a shocking and powerful literary thriller and without doubt, the most outstanding novel I have read this year.  I am sure we will be reading much more from Ryan David Jahn in the future.  Macmillan New Writing have found a great talent with this author.  Acts of Violence is published on 6 November in the UK (2 December in the USA and 1 February, 2010 in Canada).  Don't miss it!

Trevor Byrne, ghosts, lightning and a wee dram of whisky at the CheltLitFest

'Location, location, location' is a saying close to the hearts of estate agents, property dealers, property appraisers, surveyors, mortgage underwriters and the like.  It also applies to organisations with something to promote at a literary festival.  Canongate and Highland Park Whisky could not have found a better location for their marquee at Cheltenham's Literary Festival.  It was on prime walkway between the back entrance of the town hall and the rest of the tents, including the bookshop.  At times of heavy pedestrian traffic, the boys and girls were outside the tent offering a sample of their whisky and inviting you to join the latest Canongate author-in-attendance for their 15 minute sample read.  And so it came to pass that I became aware of author Trevor Byrne and also tasted my first Highland Park.

I hadn't tasted whisky for years and ventured into that first sip with some trepidation; it was rather nice and then a second flavour kicked in.  Peat.  Yes, Highland Park is a single malt of the peaty variety.  Not really for me, even after I confirmed my initial thoughts through another three free samples.

Waiting for the arrival of the author I found some blurb on him; I forget where exactly.  Trevor Byrne is currently a tutor in creative writing at Glamorgan University.  (Welsh connection.  Good. Definitely up for a blog post.)  Ghosts and Lightning is his first novel.  (Debut author. Doubly up for a blog post.)  It's the tale of someone trying to do the right thing surrounded by the wrong choices and a review said 'Revealing chronicle of our times from an exceptional new Irish talent.'  (Sounds interesting.)

And then came Trevor Byrne.  Before reading he gave a warning.  He explained that his novel Ghosts and Lightning is about 80k words long and that about 1 in 8 of them are that four letter word beginning with 'f' or derivatives thereof.  The two passages he chose to read had a higher proportion than average for the novel.  And then he read.  No one left.  More people joined.

Job well done, I think.

A Colourful Autumn in Cheltenham & A Little Bit of LitFest

Having arrived in Cheltenham, I picked up my tickets from the box office and then dashed into town for a few purchases.  However, the dashing became a meander as the north west side of Montpellier Walk beckoned due to colour and smells.  There was a market on that side of the road and beautiful it was too.  Here are some pictures:

A fantastic fruit and veg stall.  How could anyone avoid these fresh, healthy and colourful diet staples after seeing this?  They even had persimmons, juicy and ripe.

 
I'd never seen such a selection of wild mushrooms; the locals & visitors were in for a treat.

Acts of Violence - Ryan David Jahn from MNW on 6 November

It arrived in the mail yesterday, totally unexpected.  I thought I'd take a peek in bed last night before continuing with my current reading.  I had nearly finished Acts of Violence by this afternoon and then, I really, really had to go out.  I'll finish it tonight, no doubt.  No doubt at all.  (Using the new reading specs I picked up this afternoon.)

Will Atkins at Macmillan New Writing has found some fine authors with this venture and he adds to that list with Ryan David Jahn.  More next week on this one.  (Taking a day out to the Cheltenham LitFest on Saturday.  Telling a neighbour about that one earned me the nickname "Away Day Tart" this afternoon...)

Many thanks to the wonderful Sophie for this copy and congratulations to Will on his recent, well-deserved promotion at Macmillan.  Will has a special brief for new authors and crime fiction; both are areas in which he excels.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 - Summary Day 2

Today's The BooksellerDaily can be found here.  Crime and thriller fiction related includes:

• A debut thriller Sympathy for the Devil from Howard Marks is selling well overseas.  In the UK, Harvill Secker will publish it in August 2010.  It's set in Wales, with a female copper and is the first in a series.
• Faber has bought two books in a "standout" series from US-based Sara Gran.  City of the Dead is the first and it's due in spring 2011.  It features private detective Claire DeWitt.
• In the international charts: China doesn't seem to like crime fiction; the US top ten lists the ususal suspects; Stieg Larsson shows at number 5 for Ireland; Australia has come over all Dan Brown (no. 1), but Larsson features at 7 and 10.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 - Summary No. 1

The Frankfurt Book Fair is underway and no, I am not there.  Luckily, The Bookseller is and earlier today I downloaded their first BooksellerDaily publication which you see by clicking here.  In the meantime, this is a summary from crime and thriller fiction-related entries:

• Maria Rejt at Pan Macmillan has bought British and Commonwealth rights to Scott Turow's sequel of Presumed Innocent.  It follows the follows the developments in the lives of the characters 22 years later and will be published in May 2010.
• In 2011, Pan Mac will publish the first in an Arctic-set crime series from Melanie McGrath, called White Heat.  It features a female Inuit detective.
• Century and Arrow publisher, Kate Elton has bought world English rights to The Editor by journalist J. A. Osborne.  The debut has been described as "terrifying and utterly compelling" and features a female heroine in the form of the FBI's Dana Whitestone on the case of a serial killer re-enacting famous murders from the twentieth century.  Due: spring 2011.
• In the fiction charts, it appears that the French, Italians and the Danish love a Larsson (Stieg) as much as the Brits, although topping the Danish chart at the moment is a title from Sweden's Camilla Lackberg which translates as "The German Brat".  The Germans are not without a thumbs up to crime fiction however, as Simon Beckett's Whispers of the Dead comes in at number two.  This was beaten to the number one slot by Charlotte Roche's Wetlands, a novel argued as being erotica, extreme feminism or downright depravity, but never a combination of any of the three.
• Lastly, there's an advert for MAXCRIME from John Blake Publishing which features the impending title Old Dogs from Donna Moore (April 2010).

See the link above to read the rest.  (Downloading the pdf is simple by the way and leads to an easier read.)

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week 12-18 October in the UK

This week is the National Identity Fraud Prevention Week in the UK, supported by a mix of public and private sector partners including Equifax, CIFAS, National Fraud Authority, Metropolitan Police, Experian, Identity and Passport Office, to name but a few.

Visit the site to find out more about the nature of ID fraud, how it occurs, real life stories, how to prevent it and guidance for victims.

And do remember that victims include businesses as well as individuals.  Be aware and be alert!

R. N. (Roger) Morris: new website & blog

Faber historical crime author Roger Morris has a new website in which you will find the link to his new blog called, the 'Bloody Blog'.  The site also includes information about his next novel, A Razor Wrapped in Silk, coming in April 2010.

BBC1 TV Criminal Justice 2009 - the final verdict

Warning: spoilers; if you have not seen the full series through to completion.

A gripping and suspenseful series, well worth the watch, but not as good as last year's.  The suspense around this series revolved around one thing alone: would Juliet speak; would she open up; would she speak the truth of her marriage; and if so, when and would it save her?

Certain aspects were obvious from the start and I experienced no surprises in the plot, unlike last year's.  There were also some loose ends that could have been covered to greater dramatic effect, e.g. why did DI Sexton behave as he did?  There must have been a reason above copper training and "towing the line" for such a reaction to this case and the impending fall out with his wife.  Why did it take so long for DCI Faber to realise the meaning of a piece of CCTV footage and pass it to the defence?  Why, oh why was the charged, pregnant and with a history of depression never seen in the care of a psychiatrist?  Her daughter was and we do not live in Victorian times.

The denouement was also as expected, if you had your thinking cap on.  The judge was always going to be a bastard, protecting those of his own profession as we saw the glimpse in earlier episodes.  However, balancing reality and drama, I am sure there are plenty of women out there who fall foul in such cases, making this a realistic drama.  But, and it's a big but, surely they'd also appeal?  Therefore, why not include that in the drama?  The end might have been a good place to stop for drama and not satisfactory but it didn't tell the whole story.  Poignant, musical-accompanied long stills could have been dumped for more plot and further realism.

All that said, series one was one for the boys and I enjoyed it greatly, though it rattled my core, as well it should have, as well as yours.  Series two was one for the female persuasion and aimed at them/us, I suspect.  Above all, the suspense was emotional and based on female abuse.  What a wonderful cast in this series: Sophie Okonedo was excellent as a dignified, jaw-strutting solicitor wanting the truth and believing it would come out; Alice Sykes was excellent as the confused daughter; Zoe Telford was also excellent as the barrister with more than one need to win.  Nadine Marshall was sometimes forefront and sometimes background in her role, but she played every aspect to perfection.

Lastly, Maxine Peake.  What an outstanding acting performance.  She made Juliet very real.  You wanted to slap her in the face to bring her back to actual reality in Juliet's world on times, experiencing the frustration of disclosure, honour and truth, over shame.  I was in tears a few times during this series and so much so in its closing scenes.  Ms Peake, you were remarkable.  I expect to see you on the BAFTA shortlist for best Actress (or is it now a politically correct best Actor?) next year.

In conclusion: plot predictive and perhaps shallow at the end of the day, but wonderful cast and excellent acting.  If it had been on ITV, Kleenex would have been an appropriate sponsor.  Don't miss it & see it here on iplayer.

BBC TV Criminal Justice 2009

Last year's series was superb.  Written by former barrister Peter Moffat, it won the BAFTA for Best Drama Serial and Ben Whishaw was nominated for Best Actor as well as taking home the RTS award for Best Actor.  The first of the five consecutive nights' programmes for 2009 started last night and I was gripped.

Matthew Macfadyen's Joe Miller, a barrister, was initially portrayed as a man we should admire and respect.  Indeed, his clerk said to him 'You are a good man, Sir'.  But all was not well in the Miller household.

At home, his wife Juliet (Maxine Peake) was a bundle of nervous energy approaching collapse and displaying symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder.  But later, when Joe arrives home, we also see him display the same type of behaviour and an ominous cloud hangs over the family.  All is not what it first appears to be in this marriage and later that night, a clearly abused Juliet stabs her husband.

The cast is made up of the best of British talent.  Peake and Macfadyen were excellent, wonderfully supported by Denis Lawson as DCI Faber, a man who wants to get at the truth.  Steven Mackintosh as DI Sexton is note perfect as a misguided, results-driven Inspector prepared to use underhand and inhumane ways of achieving the result which he anticipates and with no room for discovery of the truth.

After only episode one, we have same course as last year: the good and bad in our criminal justice system, perfectly balanced by Moffat and likely to leave you less confident in its efficacy.  Will true justice be done in this case?

I will be glued for the rest of the week.

If you missed last night's episode, you can catch up on BBC iplayer here.  Press office pack here, from which the pictures were taken.

Bloggers Must Disclose Payments for Reviews

From December 1,this rule from the Federal Trade Commission in the US applies.  The New York Times reports:

'...The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products...'

and

'...Penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation.'

In respect of the UK, this requires some further investigation, e.g. what if a UK-based blogger has received a book from a US publisher/PR company/author?

Any thoughts, folks?  Immediate reaction?

Update: You can see the FTC press release here (you may need to click on your IE compatabililty button to scroll down).  It includes the text:

'...The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims...'

Reading Festival of Crime Writing 2009 Coverage

Alas, I didn't have the time, at the time, to go into too much detail on the events I attended at this festival.  However, the superb Jo Derrick*, who I briefly met at Jane Hill's signing table, has some great coverage on her blog The Yellow Room Editor.  Do keep scrolling down to read more.

*Jo Derrick is the founder and editor of The Yellow Room Magazine which supports women writers and short fiction.

David Roberts launch of Sweet Sorrow

From an email from Heffers Cambridge:

Thursday October 29th at 6.30pm.

Come & meet David Roberts who will be launching Sweet Sorrow, the tenth of the Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne mysteries. War is on the horizon in August 1939, and Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne' s are spending their honeymoon in their new house in the sleepy Sussex village of Rodmell. However their peace is disturbed by a murder after the village fete, involving our intrepid couple in one of their most dangerous investigations to date.

These are ticketed events ONLY. Tickets are FREE and may be obtained from the Ground Floor Cash Desk at Heffers Bookshop, 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge or by contacting Richard Reynolds on 01223 568532 or email literature AT heffers DOT co DOT uk

TV this week

There is some pretty good TV coming up this week:

• Monday through to Friday, 9pm on BBC1 sees the return of Criminal Justice, a series penned by former barrister Peter Moffat.  Last year's series resulted in two BAFTAs, one for the series and one for its star, Ben Whishaw.  This year's stars Maxine Peake as a woman who stabs her husband in his bed.
• Monday 8pm on Channel 4: Dispatches looks at "Who Took Your Pension?"  This is something that should concern us all, so it ought to be worth a watch.
• Tuesday 9pm BBC 2 gives us a documentary, Blitz: The Bombing of Coventry.
• Friday 10.35pm on ITV1 we have Mystic River, the film based on the novel by Dennis Lehane.

GUEST BLOG: Why Crime Fiction Always Sells

Today, It's a Crime! welcomes Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of forensic scientist schools.  In the following article she considers why crime fiction always sells.  Over to Adrienne:

There are varying forms of crime fiction – some focus on the crime, others on the main characters; some are violent and gory, others do not refer to the crime other than in passing; some are series featuring recurring characters while others are standalone novels, each of which is complete in itself. Crime fiction is a genre that will always find readers; it has been selling from the time books began to be published and will be around even though other new genres come about. And the reasons why crime fiction sells are:

• The author is good: When you know and love an author, you don’t think twice about buying his or her books, even when you don’t know the storyline or the plot. You know you love the author’s style of writing and that’s all that matters. A good crime writer can hold readers’ attention and keep them coming back for more, even after a long break.
• There is a series: Some crime stories are written as a series, with one or more books being linked together in terms of characters and plot. This makes you want to know what happens next, and you end up waiting avidly for the next book in the series.
• People are attracted to crime: in a very strange and compelling way. They don’t want to be at the center of the crime or even related to it in any way, but they do have voyeuristic tendencies that make them crowd around crime scenes, read crime news in the paper, and of course, buy crime fiction. Also, a good whodunit is an entertainer for all seasons and makes for light reading at any time.
• Readers are curious: They love to find out how the crime is solved and how the criminal is brought to book by the protagonist. They are curious about the method used to solve the murder or rape, and this makes them continue to buy crime fiction even though they have never read the author before.
• Some people want the thrill: If you’ve ever read a good crime thriller, you’ll know what I mean when I say that you tend to feel a sort of anticlimax when you reach the end of the book. It’s like you build up to a crescendo during the closing pages, the ones that lead to the capture of the criminal. And once the end has come and the last page has been read, your adrenaline levels drop down drastically, leaving you wanting another fix. This makes people buy crime fiction books repeatedly.

Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions, including at her email address: adrienne DOT carlson83 AT yahoo DOT com.  Many thanks to Adrienne.

The head above the parapet...

...is mine.  Yes, the official big interview day is now over and I await the outcome.  I didn't breathe a huge sigh of relief as I expected, but did fall into a dopey, drowsy mode on the plane sitting in a middle seat between two gentlemen.  The next thing I knew we were landing.  My chin bobbing up and down woke me up as the wheels hit the tarmac.  It seems it's been the week of violent bobbing up and down after Gordon Brown's shoulders defied ligaments, tendons and all other forms of attachments in his speech to his party's conference, so beware: it's catching faster than swine flu in the UK, this BU&D thingy.